Ainge: Rondo is "the centerpiece of our future"

[Celtics18]

"What's real is, he's going nowhere."  Wow!  Those are the strongest words I've heard yet from Ainge to indicate that Rondo is "going nowhere." 

I agree... if the most any team wants to give up for Rondo is Iman Shumpert, Rondo isn't going anywhere.  At least for a year and a half... then he'll probably flee in free agency.

Sure.

[Tr1boy]

The truth.

I can't recall seeing any rumored Rondo trade that wasn't legitimately insulting.  Rondo is worth far more than we ever see offered.

You can't really think Rondo worth much more than  Steph Curry or Chris Paul?

Those were rumors were Ainge was reportedly the one doing the offering.  Has there been a rumor of another team asking about Rondo and offering something good in return?

I wouldn't be shocked if the Celtics have to receive a player who is at least around the level of Steph Curry for Ainge to consider trading Rondo.  How many players in the NBA fit that description?

None. And if they had a pg/sg like that why would they trade them for rondo??

The only players celts can get overpaid for rondo are not pg position players. Teams with excess talent that need that extra for the playoffs.

I wonder how many years teams like sac, det will endure sukking before they take a risk for a final piece like rondo. I would faint if sac offered us mclemore

[Celtics18]

The truth.

I can't recall seeing any rumored Rondo trade that wasn't legitimately insulting.  Rondo is worth far more than we ever see offered.

You can't really think Rondo worth much more than  Steph Curry or Chris Paul?

Those were rumors were Ainge was reportedly the one doing the offering.  Has there been a rumor of another team asking about Rondo and offering something good in return?

I wouldn't be shocked if the Celtics have to receive a player who is at least around the level of Steph Curry for Ainge to consider trading Rondo.  How many players in the NBA fit that description?

None. And if they had a pg/sg like that why would they trade them for rondo??

The only players celts can get overpaid for rondo are not pg position players. Teams with excess talent that need that extra for the playoffs.

I wonder how many years teams like sac, det will endure sukking before they take a risk for a final piece like rondo. I would faint if sac offered us mclemore

I would faint if Danny traded away Rondo for McLemore. 

[D.o.s.]

The truth.

I can't recall seeing any rumored Rondo trade that wasn't legitimately insulting.  Rondo is worth far more than we ever see offered.

You can't really think Rondo worth much more than  Steph Curry or Chris Paul?

Those were rumors were Ainge was reportedly the one doing the offering.  Has there been a rumor of another team asking about Rondo and offering something good in return?

I wouldn't be shocked if the Celtics have to receive a player who is at least around the level of Steph Curry for Ainge to consider trading Rondo.  How many players in the NBA fit that description?

None. And if they had a pg/sg like that why would they trade them for rondo??

The only players celts can get overpaid for rondo are not pg position players. Teams with excess talent that need that extra for the playoffs.

I wonder how many years teams like sac, det will endure sukking before they take a risk for a final piece like rondo. I would faint if sac offered us mclemore

I would faint if Danny traded away Rondo for McLemore.

Me too.

I simply can't believe that's a serious statement as far as "good value for Rondo" is concerned.

[Tr1boy]

The truth.

I can't recall seeing any rumored Rondo trade that wasn't legitimately insulting.  Rondo is worth far more than we ever see offered.

You can't really think Rondo worth much more than  Steph Curry or Chris Paul?

Those were rumors were Ainge was reportedly the one doing the offering.  Has there been a rumor of another team asking about Rondo and offering something good in return?

I wouldn't be shocked if the Celtics have to receive a player who is at least around the level of Steph Curry for Ainge to consider trading Rondo.  How many players in the NBA fit that description?

None. And if they had a pg/sg like that why would they trade them for rondo??

The only players celts can get overpaid for rondo are not pg position players. Teams with excess talent that need that extra for the playoffs.

I wonder how many years teams like sac, det will endure sukking before they take a risk for a final piece like rondo. I would faint if sac offered us mclemore

I would faint if Danny traded away Rondo for McLemore.

Of joy or disgust?

Mclemore has the tools to be a top sg in the league

[Celtics18]

The truth.

I can't recall seeing any rumored Rondo trade that wasn't legitimately insulting.  Rondo is worth far more than we ever see offered.

You can't really think Rondo worth much more than  Steph Curry or Chris Paul?

Those were rumors were Ainge was reportedly the one doing the offering.  Has there been a rumor of another team asking about Rondo and offering something good in return?

I wouldn't be shocked if the Celtics have to receive a player who is at least around the level of Steph Curry for Ainge to consider trading Rondo.  How many players in the NBA fit that description?

None. And if they had a pg/sg like that why would they trade them for rondo??

The only players celts can get overpaid for rondo are not pg position players. Teams with excess talent that need that extra for the playoffs.

I wonder how many years teams like sac, det will endure sukking before they take a risk for a final piece like rondo. I would faint if sac offered us mclemore

I would faint if Danny traded away Rondo for McLemore.

Of joy or disgust?

Mclemore has the tools to be a top sg in the league

Oh, disgust. 

[Yoki_IsTheName]

from today's Globe:

"Ainge called Rondo, a four-time All-Star, "the centerpiece of our future."

He added, "Guys that are starting All-Star players just don’t come around. The special players, the transcendent players in our league, are very difficult to find and acquire. We believe Rondo is one of those guys. He’s a very special player. We value him a great deal.""

"What’s real is, he’s going nowhere," Ainge said. "That’s what’s real."


http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2013/11/danny_ainge_said_no_teams_have_contacted_him_about_rajon_ron.html

Ainge is a tricky son of a gun. Prob increased Rondo's value another 20 percent by telling the world he is not going nowhere.

Ainge was ready to trade Rondo for Paul or Curry in the past. So i can't believe he is a total untouchable

If Chris Paul is the return then Danny should not hesitate. I think he's just saying that Rondo will not be traded for just a somebody or a bunch of somebodies.

[BballTim]

Uh oh. This definitely means Rondo is on the block.
Just kidding.
Ainge is saying the right things. He does mean it too, except that no one is untouchable.
What Ainge really means would go something like:
'He's the center piece of our future...he's not going anywhere. ..unless we get a great fantastic offer for him'.
Who knows what would qualify for a great offer.
Would a top 10 pick or a top 5 pick be enough?
Who knows, he's certainly doing the right thing.

Funny he mentions the starting All star thing when he started because of Rose's injury. I like how he threw that in there with the 4x All Star note.

  Those things tend to even out. Rose started in 2011 because Rondo was struggling with injuries.

[Vermont Green]

Those statements by Ainge sounded like Scott Boras talking about Jacoby Ellsbury or Stephen Drew.

I think if we gave Ainge truth serum, he would say "we value Rondo and we are not going to trade him just for the sake of trading him", which I think is reasonable.  Or "Rondo isn't going anywhere unless/until the trade offers get a whole lot better".

I am not sure we can build "around" Rondo for two reasons, I don't think he is quite that level of player and also his contract will be up at about the worst possible time.

[crimson_stallion]

The truth.

I can't recall seeing any rumored Rondo trade that wasn't legitimately insulting.  Rondo is worth far more than we ever see offered.

You can't really think Rondo worth much more than  Steph Curry or Chris Paul?

More that Curry yes, more than Paul no.

I would not trade Rondo for Curry, who is an absolutely horrendous defensive player.

[NocturnalRebel]

That's good to hear (or know).

I don't know what makes tha likes of Simmons and Rose feels like tha C's have no use for Rondo or feel he should be traded just because Pierce and KG isn't here anymore. Never understood that logic. Yes Rondo was a part of that 08 championship team but that doesn't mean he shouldn't continue playing ball in a Celtics jersey just because he's tha last of our 08 team/Big 3.

Players like Rondo are tha ones you keep. He's a rare and special talent and there's no one Ainge can replace him with that's of equal or greater value. Rondo said after he went down that as far as he's concerned he's still a Celtic and I'm glad Ainge made it known he's going nowhere.

I look forward to our journey back to tha top with Rondo as our centerpiece and our future coach of tha year in Brad Stevens.

[Boris Badenov]

A question just occurred to me:

When was the last time a player of Rondo's quality was traded for a player of equal or greater quality?

I'm asking because a lot of the biggest recent trades I can remember with star players (CP, Harden, DH, etc.) have been "quarter-for-three-dimes" types. I'm sure I'm missing something.

I realize this may spark a debate about Rondo's quality, but let's just say that we're looking for instances in which a multi-time All-Star/All-NBA player was traded for someone arguably better. Or equal.

[TheWatersEdge]

Relieved here, and no I don't think it's a statement that Ainge made solely to "enhance" Rondo's trade value.  I think this is Danny going to bat for Rajon, just as he did for Pierce back in the day during the "dark years" and with the off-season roster cleansing he's simply making it perfectly clear that the plan is indeed to build around Rondo.  After a bold clarification like this, it is very unlikely Danny will make a move with him.  It's the best plan we can cobble together at this point anyway.

[D.o.s.]

A question just occurred to me:

When was the last time a player of Rondo's quality was traded for a player of equal or greater quality?

I'm asking because a lot of the biggest recent trades I can remember with star players (CP, Harden, DH, etc.) have been "quarter-for-three-dimes" types. I'm sure I'm missing something.

I realize this may spark a debate about Rondo's quality, but let's just say that we're looking for instances in which a multi-time All-Star/All-NBA player was traded for someone arguably better. Or equal.

Iverson for Billups?

Although I guess that depends on how  you feel about 2008 AI and 2008 Chauncey.

[BudweiserCeltic]

A question just occurred to me:

When was the last time a player of Rondo's quality was traded for a player of equal or greater quality?

I'm asking because a lot of the biggest recent trades I can remember with star players (CP, Harden, DH, etc.) have been "quarter-for-three-dimes" types. I'm sure I'm missing something.

I realize this may spark a debate about Rondo's quality, but let's just say that we're looking for instances in which a multi-time All-Star/All-NBA player was traded for someone arguably better. Or equal.

All the players you listed are players that wanted out of their team or the team could no longer afford them.